Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), Google Inc (GOOG): Winners in Streaming Entertainment

Coming competition

Hulu is a popular online television and movie streaming service. It is a private company that offers both free shows and paid subscriptions. It earns money on advertising, in addition to its membership fees. In the last year the company has doubled its membership numbers in the past year from 2 million to 4 million. This company is an excellent buyout opportunity.

One company interested in purchasing Hulu is Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO). Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) has been struggling in the online advertising and mobile advertising space recently. But with a new CEO at the helm, the company has been making some major changes.

This would be a strong move for Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO). Revenue has slipped in the last few years, but has started to recover, and its net income has improved as the company is spending less on research and development. While this is a benefit to the bottom line, it is not a benefit for the company as a whole. In the software and Internet space, new technologies and products are extremely important.  Purchasing Hulu would give Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) a new revenue stream that is very relevant to what consumers want right now. Google has already dominated search engines, advertising, and Internet applications.

Final thoughts

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is the clear winner of these three. It already has the infrastructure in place and has hopes for expansion this year. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s YouTube will add a nice diversity to its streaming platform, but likely won’t bring in enough cash to make a big impact on the bottom line. Hulu has the ability to take away a lot of market share from Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) because it offers different content. If Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) does in fact purchase this company, it could see a major growth opportunity in the coming years.

The article Winners in Streaming Entertainment originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Austin Higgins.

Austin Higgins has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Google and Netflix. The Motley Fool owns shares of Google and Netflix. Austin is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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